How To Increase Internet Speed For Free – Setap

Improve network speed and say goodbye to lag! This article will guide you how to detect and improve network speed, covering methods such as DNS server replacement and network monitoring, helping you enjoy a high-speed network experience.

We all yearn for faster internet connections. High-speed networking means instant downloads of files, HD video calls, smooth HD movie playback, seamless data backup, and reducing conflicts between families or colleagues due to network priorities.

However, high-speed networks often mean higher service charges. Even if you pay a high fee, you cannot guarantee the speed of getting publicity, as packages are usually marked as "Maximum…Mbps". So if you have ever tested your network speed, you may find that the actual speed is much lower than advertising.

How to test your network speed right now? More importantly, how to improve network speed for free? Let's explore together.

Test your network speed now

To improve network speed, you first need to understand the current network speed. Many websites can accurately measure your network speed, one of the most trustworthy is speedtest.net:

1. Visit speedtest.net
2. Click "Start Test"
3. Wait for the test results

The test results will show download and upload speeds. The download speed indicates the speed at which the device receives information from the network, and the upload speed indicates the speed at which the device sends information.

Note: Network speed is usually in megabits per second (Mbps), which is different from the megabytes (MB) used to measure hard disk capacity. Each megabyte contains approximately eight megabits. Therefore, downloading a 4MB song requires 32 Mbps. This difference stems from the early Internet era, where computers were very slow to transfer, and it was more reasonable to use bits instead of bytes.

After knowing your network speed, you may want to know how to improve your network speed. One trick is to change the default DNS server to a faster (and more private) server. But what is a DNS server?

What is a DNS server?

Every time you visit a website, you usually enter a URL in your browser's address bar, such as setapp.com. Your home router logs this request and then directs it to a DNS server that converts the domain name to its actual IP address (e.g. 192.168.1.1) so that you can ping that particular server, which then reverses and displays the website you are looking for.

By default, your router is set to use the ISP's DNS server. The problem is that not only is this likely to be slower than other DNS servers, but it also may log every website you visit (because it is their server for redirection) and then sell that data to advertisers or anyone else.

The good news is that there are various DNS benchmarks that can tell you which DNS server is best for your specific location. Therefore, understanding how to speed up your network depends heavily on finding the most suitable DNS server.

How to find the best DNS server

You will find many services that offer DNS servers. In fact, most large tech companies have their own DNS servers. Some are paid and have many features like malware protection, DDoS mitigation, redundancy, and more—you may not need these.

Instead, you can scan some DNS benchmarks online to find free providers whose servers are close to your location and have strong privacy protections.

Among the world's well-covered DNS servers, there are two free options that stand out most: Google and Cloudflare.

Google is a tech giant with thousands of servers around the world, so its speed is beyond doubt – almost impossible to be faster. If you like Google, using its DNS server is a good choice. The only downside is that your request will be recorded by Google servers. Since Google is an advertising company, it is not entirely clear how it uses your data.

Cloudflare is also a large technology company that you may not be familiar with because their business is to provide server-level protection and stability (robot management, DDoS protection, load balancing) to large enterprises around the world. While its DNS servers are at the same speed as Google, its privacy stance has been excellent. Cloudflare publicly promises never to record your IP address or sell your data.

So between Google and Cloudflare, we might recommend Cloudflare more, but both options are great and the choice is up to you. So, how do you actually change your default DNS server?

How to change DNS server on Mac

Once you have determined which DNS server you want to use, you can change it from the default server of your ISP to a faster server: at the device level and at the router level.

At the device level, you can change the DNS server directly on your Mac, and it should work with multiple WiFi connections, no matter where you are. However, you need to change it for every device you use. The method is as follows:

1. Open System Preferences➙Network
2. Click "Advanced..."
3. Switch to the DNS tab
4. Delete any number in the DNS server column
5. Use the plus icon at the bottom to add the new DNS server address you obtained from the DNS server of your choice. There may be one to four numbers. For example, for Cloudflare, they are: 1.1.1.1 , 1.0.0.1 , 2606:4700::1111 and 2606:4700::1001 .
6. Click "OK"

At the router level, you can specify a new DNS server, which will automatically apply to all devices using their internet connection. However, to connect to another WiFi on any device, you need to specify a DNS server at the device level (you can do both!).

To change the DNS server on the router:

1. Log in to your router management settings. You may be able to use the username-password combination written on your router, and the IP address as the URL.
2. Find DNS server settings
3. Change the settings from automatic to manual and paste a new DNS server such as 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 for Cloudflare
4. Click "Apply"

If you decide to use Cloudflare, they have another special option for router DNS settings that automatically filter out various malware and make your home WiFi safer. DNS servers with this feature enabled are 1.1.1.2 and 1.0.0.2 .

Please read also:

• Ping commands on Mac
• Best Network Monitoring Software for Mac
• How to Speed ​​Up YouTube on Mac
• Best wireless router for Mac

How to monitor your WiFi connection

Of all the best ways to speed up your network, replacing a DNS server is very important. However, while using a new DNS server can speed up website loading (because it reduces the time it takes to convert a domain name to the corresponding IP address), this doesn't help you improve your network speed overall (i.e. your Mbps bandwidth). The best way is to monitor and troubleshoot network failures.

WiFi Explorer is a powerful network monitoring and analysis tool that scans nearby WiFi connections and provides accurate data on its signal strength, channel width, frequency band, noise volume, and more. You can then detect all the poor performance aspects and troubleshoot them one by one using the built-in help guide.

NetSpot is another important WiFi scanner that not only provides a lot of real-time network information, it also allows you to upload or draw a spatial map, specify some distance, and note the exact level of reception. Once you know where the power outage occurs, you can, for example, adjust the location of your router (or purchase a router extender) to make adjustments accordingly.

As you can see, there are many ways to speed up your network at home. Changing the default DNS server is very easy, you only need to do it once. But also make sure to view other network and Mac features, you can use WiFi Explorer to make improvements and use NetSpot to see how your WiFi penetrates your space.

Most importantly, you can try WiFi Explorer and NetSpot for free for seven days with Setapp, a platform with over 210 practical Mac applications that can help you improve your daily life. Now with truly high-speed internet, you can browse and try any apps you like for free and experience their benefits firsthand!

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